Home > Activity 8-C-1: Year in the Life

Directions:

On the table below, add at least three events or activities you can do during the school year in the right column of the table. Each event or activity should help you address a component of the Achievement Triangle and be appropriate for the time in the school calendar. Try to fill in spaces that have not yet been completed, but some cells in the table may have multiple ideas.

Click the Edit tab in the upper-right corner.
Place your cursor in the table cell next to the month and achievement triangle section you want to contribute an event or activity idea to.
Add your text in the cell.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 for your remaining event and activity ideas.
Press Save on the Editor bar.

Achievement Triangle Event and Activity Ideas List

Month	Achievement Triangle	Event and Activity Ideas
August	Know Self	Make a list of goals for the new school year, including personal and professional goals. Formulate ways to balance all activities. Katie M.
August	Know Students	Call each family to discuss questionnaire which was mailed home regarding expectations for their child in the upcoming school year. Katie M (This is a great opportunity to reach out! - Shawn)
August	Know Practice	Establish preschool themes and ways to present multiple perspectives and reflections on these perspectives into each theme. Katie M. I give an Ice Breaker to my students in the beginning of the semester to get to know each other and for me to get to know them. Amy (Is this something you can do at the beginning of each class? Shawn)
September	Know Self	Personally journal, articulate within myself a quick review of my goals stated last month if they will work, if I have been faithful to the process in the first few weeks. John Pahls
September	Know Students	Start learning about my students' interests, cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds through questionnaires, family interviews, observations and note taking.Marz
September	Know Practice	Create physically welcoming classroom space that represents cultures and individual differences. - Beth
October	Know Self
October	Know Students	Take my homeroom to dinner, a movie or bowling, to get to know the students outside of school and for them to see another side of me. LINA
October	Know Practice	Start incorporating what I learned about my students into the curriculum and lesson planning.Marz (They will certainly appreciate it! - Shawn)
November	Know Self
November	Know Students	Sit down and have a Thanksgiving school lunch with them. Join the students in the cafeteria and see what it is like to sit at their table and join in on their conversations. (I recently did this!) Showing them that you are just like them may lead to them opening up to you. You never know what may be confessed at a lunch table. Thanksgiving is also a time that you do not really need to be from the USA to appreciate. Students of all backgrounds can appreciate giving thanks for something in their life. Libby (This could be a good time to share what students are thankful for. - Shawn)
November	Know Practice	With personal professional development funds, seek out any workshops or conferences to continue to develop best practice of meeting the needs of multicultural students. John Pahls
December	Know Self	Since this is the time most teachers have Christmas break it would be nice to take the time away from school. Clear all thoughts for a few days about school and relax. After that make a list of three things that you would like to accomplish for YOURSELF in the following year. - Libby
December	Know Students	At the end of the semester, I have students reflect on their experiences in group. I facilitate an Autism Spectrum Group and this time of year I have them assess how the group helped them, what they learned, and to share any of these experiences with the group. I learn from the students during this time of reflection, it is helpful for me to know them even better. Amy
December	Know Practice	Formative assessment: reflection of the school year so far for the students: something important that I have learned this year is / what I enjoyed studying the most was / next year I hope to / I will never forget this year because / etc. LINA (How would you set up these questions? - Shawn) Reflect on my practice regarding incorporating of cultural competence into my classroom based on notes and observations and make improvements if necessary. Marz
January	Know Self	Set New Year's Resolutions: after reflecting on the "points of improvement" of the first two semester, re-group my thoughts and establish new goals to be able to start fresh. LINA
January	Know Students	Analyze the state of my cultural competence and reflect on it. What have I learned about myself? How have I grown? What else can I change and improve? Have I been an active advocate for change? Marz
January	Know Practice	Conduct a mid year curriculum reflection. In relation to "responsiveness", are my curriculum expectations fair to each and every student, considering their individual strengths and needs? -Beth
February	Know Self
February	Know Students	Conduct activities that help students form authentic relationships despite their differences. - Beth
February	Know Practice
March	Know Self
March	Know Students
March	Know Practice
April	Know Self
April	Know Students	Be attentive this month and every month to cultural holidays and events of many cultures that fall at certain times of the year. Be aware this may affect students attitudes, energy, and sleep patterns depending upon what is happening socially within their families and communities. John Pahls
April	Know Practice
May	Know Self	Since the spring semester ends in the beginning of May and we have some time before summer term, this is a good time for me to get connected with myself again. I try and take this time to clarify my personal goals, what I want to spend time on for myself in the summer/year. Amy
May	Know Students
May	Know Practice	The end of the year is approaching at this time. Talk to teachers about what workshops or techniques that helped in their classroom. Make a list that you can visit at the start of next year and plan to attend two or three to better yourself. Libby
June	Know Self
June	Know Students	Survey the students
June	Know Practice
July	Know Self	Reflect on the successes and failures of the previous year. Develop a "To Do" list that you can check off during the following school year to keep your self accountable for bettering yourself personally and professionally- Abbey (Hi, Abbey, would it help to have this reflection right after the school year, or is a break helpful? - Shawn)
July	Know Students	Mail a letter to your new students telling them about yourself and asking students to share information about themselves and summer experiences. The questions asked will allow you to gain insight in to students' personalities, cultural values and relationships. -Abbey
July	Know Practice	Have an experience that pushes you outside of your groups and comfort zone including traveling, taking a class and volunteering. These experience will provide further value to your instruction.- Abbey